Cooper Cronk: Dolphins must target Payne Haas, not Daly Cherry-Evans

Winless in 2025, the Dolphins’ biggest weakness has been identified by one of the game’s sharpest minds - and the cure to the club’s woes can come by attacking their greatest rival.

Payne Haas of the Broncos celebrates after scoring a try during the round three NRL match between Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium, on March 21, 2025, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The “awful” Dolphins have been urged to launch a poaching raid on Payne Haas as Brisbane teammate Kotoni Staggs appealed for the superstar prop to remain at the Broncos.

Haas goes into Saturday night’s clash against the Wests Tigers at Suncorp Stadium as the form prop of the league, with Broncos bosses ready to kick off extension talks to stave off poaching bids for the NSW Origin enforcer.

Haas is off-contract at the Broncos at the end of 2026, making him a free agent from November 1 this year, giving the Broncos a crucial seven-month headstart to lock in their front-row champion.

Broncos prop Payne Haas is a game changer. Picture: David Clark

Manly boss Tony Mestrov has confirmed the club’s interest in Haas if he goes to free agency, while Queensland Origin legend Cooper Cronk believes Brisbane’s derby rivals the Dolphins should pull out the chequebook.

Former NSW Origin pivot Matthew Johns described the Dolphins’ attacking formations as “awful” in their 20-12 Battle of Brisbane loss to the Broncos last Friday at Suncorp Stadium.

Cronk agreed with Johns, saying the Dolphins are crying out for athletic forwards, with the former Maroons halfback adamant Haas - not Daly Cherry-Evans - should be Redcliffe’s No.1 recruitment target.

“They (Dolphins) need a forward who can go-forward and bend the line and create quick play-the-balls for (Isaiya) Katoa (chief playmaker),” said Fox Sports analyst Cronk, who played 22 Origin matches for Queensland.

“There was too much sideways movement and no forward thrust (against the Broncos last week).

“The Dolphins got caught out big time.

The Dolphins have endured a tough start to the 2025 season, going winless through their opening four rounds. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“I know they are in the conversation for Cherry-Evans, but they need someone explosive in the middle of the field to create ruck speed.

“They have a halfback (Katoa) who might deliver a premiership but they need some forward thrust and big bodies.

“(Kulikefu) Finefeuiaki is the only really athletic guy, the other forwards are workers, so the Dolphins need to mix it up a bit and go after (Haumole) Olakau’atu (Manly back-rower) or Payne Haas.”

Staggs is on the verge of inking a multi-year extension and the Broncos centre urged Haas and off-contract Selwyn Cobbo to stay loyal in pursuit of Brisbane’s first premiership since 2006.

“I hope they stay 100 per cent,” Staggs said.

“You couldn’t see them (Haas and Cobbo) anywhere else, but I guess they have got their managers looking after their (contracts) as well.

Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf after losing to the Broncos. Picture: NRL Images

“You can see what Payne does every week, what he did last week (against the Dolphins) when we needed something, he just sparked it up out of nothing.

“We need him and when he does stuff like that, the team gets their energy off that kind of stuff.”

Johns raised major concerns about the attacking mindset of the winless Dolphins, who are fighting to avert a fifth consecutive loss to the Titans this Saturday.

“Outside of Katoa, some of their formations have been awful,” Newcastle premiership legend Johns said.

“The knock on the Dolphins is that their attack has been very sideways.

“They are setting up for sideways ball movement. Against the Broncos, Kotoni Staggs defended inside-out in a slide formation, that’s the easiest way to tackle for a defensive team.”

Originally published as Cooper Cronk: Dolphins must target Payne Haas, not Daly Cherry-Evans